Another bright flame snuffed out ...

The photograph of Wendy Babcock was taken at a fundraiser that friends, lovers, members of her chosen family and assorted admirers and supporters organized on her behalf.

Babcock, an Osgoode Hall student entering her third year, took the most unusual path imaginable to arrive at law school. She left home at a young age and, by 15, was a sex worker in Toronto — stopping in 2003 after the violent death of a colleague. She then turned to advocacy on behalf of sex workers, worked in harm reduction at Street Health and testified as part of veteran lawyer Alan Young's challenge of Canada's prostitution laws. Babcock attended George Brown before being accepted at Osgoode — one of only ten students in her year who did not hold a university degree.

She was found dead on Tuesday in an apparent suicide.

Babcock’s death is a tragedy on so many levels. [...]the example she set for marginalized people in general and teenage sex workers in particular was beyond inspiring, but she will not be around to witness the long-lasting impact of her accomplishments.

But this news is also a tragic blow to the Toronto legal community, which badly needs the experience and perspective of people like Babcock. From all indications, she was poised to be a formidable voice for people who are too often voiceless — in the justice system as well as the mainstream media.

From here.

More about Wendy's activism.

The New Grassroots

Great article by our pal, Antonia Zebisias, on the new grassroots.

In the olden days, about, oh, three years ago, citizens who engaged in political campaigns had to get off their sofas and into church basements and candidates meetings.

They knocked on doors, dropped off flyers, planted signs.

They put the act in activism, the haul ass in grassroots.

Today, during Canada’s 41st federal election, or #elxn41 as it’s called on Twitter, voters don’t need to shiver in the cold shilling for their candidate. They can commiserate with friends on Facebook, fight the power via Twitter and put their politics on YouTube.

Well-researched as usual, it's great roundup and overview of what people are doing and what the pundits are saying about it.

Among others, AZ mentioned the group close to my heart -- as regular readers will know.

Another CAPP spin-off is Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper (CRUSH), which the Conservatives have described as “a radical anti-Stephen Harper group.” More than 6,500 strong, the registered non-profit has invested thousands of dollars on newspaper ads.

“I have received small amounts of cash in envelopes from very ordinary folks from all corners of the country, usually accompanied with a nice note complementing us on defending our democracy,” says founder Bill Nobels, a retired Ryerson University film and video professor.

Since the election was called the radical gang has come up with another tactic, Adopt-A-Riding.

Individual members identify a riding with a vulnerable Con in it, do some media research, then try to raise dough to buy ads in local papers.

The first one was Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. Mission accomplished. Ads will appear Monday.

Next was Vaughan and Thornhill, one ad buy, two targetted Cabinet Ministers. A two-fer!

Done. Money raised.

Next up, West Nova.

Brad Bossack, sponsor of this one did the research:

Three newspapers cover the whole riding, the Middleton Spectator, the Digby Courier, and the Yarmouth Vanguard. I've decided that 1/4 page ad in all three would be a fairly easy achievable goal for the cost of 618.91.

That one's in the bag too.

Now, CRUSHers have their eye on: Haldimand-Norfolk currently held by the lovely and talented Minister of Something or Other, Diane Finley, a noted social commentator best known for observations like these:

On employment insurance: “We do not want to make it lucrative for them to stay home and get paid for it.”

On child care: “The Liberals wanted to ensure that parents are forced to have other people raise their children. We do not believe in that.”

She's married to the lovely and talented Senator Doug Finley, he of In/Out fame.

This is just grand. Ordinary, pissed-off Canadians rising up (couldn't resist) to defend democracy. Our democracy. Not Stevie Peevie's. Ours.

Got a few bucks to spare? Want to defend democracy from the odious Finleys? Donate.

Democracy's Future*

If nothing else, the past five years have shown Canadians how badly broken our democracy is. Until and unless we get some radical electoral and democratic change, it's going to be up to citizens to protect what's left of that creaky old institution.

Luckily, we're a resourceful lot. When Harper prorogued Parliament for the second time, we'd had enough. Unfortunately, over 200,000 of us on Facebook and thousands in the streets didn't seem to impress the politicians much.

But that was just the beginning. More non-partisan or multi-partisan grassroots groups sprang up: Catch 22 Harper Conservatives, Unseat Harper, and a more recent group, LeadNow.

Today I went looking for more, specifically for groups aiming at young voters. Found two.

Apathy Is Boring.

Revolutionizing democracy through art & technology.

Apathy is Boring is a national non-partisan project. Our mission is to use art & technology to educate youth about democracy.

Apathy is Boring aims to meet the following Youth in Democracy Goals:

Increase youth voting rates.
Increase youth engagement in their communities.
Build a sustainable dialogue between youth and elected officials.

It has a dandy facts page with definitions and other helpful info.

OurVote is also targetting youth.

OurVote.ca's goal is to mobilize young Canadians to actively engage and participate in the now declared 2011 Elections for the governance of Canada!

Young Canadians have a decisive voice and interest in determining the direction of Canada and necessary leadership that takes into account our needs & concerns!

Why does does getting youth involved matter?

Because voter turn-out is declining and there's that old saw: 'Low voter turn-out favours the conservative parties'.

Hey, look at this (from October last year).

How Parliament would look if only youth voted .

Canada’s youth would elect a Liberal minority government, with a substantial increase in representation for the New Democrats, Bloc Québécois, and Greens, according to projections based on recent polls of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24. The Conservative Party would be severely reduced, virtually wiped out east of Manitoba.

Want to unseat Stephen Harper? Encourage the kids to vote.

(*Cross-posted at Voices for Democracy, Unseat Harper's blog. Good bloggers there. Check it out.)

Dynamic, not static.

This is Sara Hedren, an artist, an activist and another spiritual offspring of Gorilla Grrls.

Sara has set her talents, her craft and her heart upon changing the static icon that represents (and circumscribes) individuals with physical disabilities.

From here:

“It’s so familiar, it has the invisibility of the obvious,’’ said Hendren, who is trying to change that with a street art project that is popping up — illegally — throughout the area.

In an era when even the most mundane objects are given obsessive attention from designers, Hendren said she believes the International Symbol of Access, as it is formally known, is long overdue for a makeover. The design, which is more than 40 years old, represents dated views of persons with disabilities, she said, and lacks the life of even the most basic stick-figure pictograms, such as the pedestrian walk signal.

“The figure is static, wooden, with the squared-off geometry of machinery. The body is synonymous with the chair,’’ and creates the impression of someone who needs a push to get through the world, said the 37-year-old artist and mother of three small children who lives in Cambridge. “It is almost completely unexamined, yet it is a design with human values at stake.’’

Hendren has created stickers that feature her own design — the symbol looks more like a person in a wheelchair race — and she is placing that sticker over the current symbol. Her goal is not to replace the symbol but to evolve it, she said. Her stickers are intentionally transparent so that they call attention not just to themselves, but also the old image underneath.[...]

Hendren said she is not a designer or a policy maker, but an artist, and the real goal of her guerrilla campaign is to raise questions about the symbol, not propose answers.

“There’s a much bigger question to ask about who is abled and who is disabled and what we think about dependence and need,’’ she said. “I’m just trying to start a discussion where we reevaluate our assumptions and our attitudes.’’

Yeah! You go, grrrl!

Need we add that here's a Sara who's actually engaged, involved and active in changing the world, unlike someone who bears the same name & who only serves to whine?

h∕t rampracer on Twitter

Radical Rally-ers!

On Facebook.

Really.

The ReformaTories are lashing out at a Facebook group, Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, or CRUSH.

The CBC-bashing continues unabated as Tory strategists uncover more revelations of so-called Liberal bias at the network.

Mary Pynenberg, the viewer who inspired a recent poll on women in politics, is not only a former Liberal candidate but is also a “radical anti-Stephen Harper group,” according to the latest internal Tory talking points. Oh, and she has donated $14,000 since 2004 to the Liberal Party.

(snip)

The latest is that Ms. Pynenburg is also the vice-president of the National Women’s Liberal Commission and “a proud member of Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper (CRUSH), a radical anti-Stephen Harper group,” the Tory missive says.

Of course, we CRUSHers are chortling over it.

And last week, as promised, I sent CRUSH another donation. I took it outta my MASSIVE tax refund, which was very satisfying. ReformaTories aren't going to spend my dough on self-congratulatory advertising. Instead, I get to spend some on advertising intended to help bring them down.

If you haven't heard about CRUSH, go check them out. I think it's a fascinating experiment in multi-partisan grassroots activism.